


Lucky

by heeroluva



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Coming Out, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Introspection, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-14
Updated: 2015-12-14
Packaged: 2018-05-06 14:52:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,402
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5421200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heeroluva/pseuds/heeroluva
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack made Eric happy, happier than he’d ever dreamt he could be, having what he’d once thought would never be possible. Was it too much to hope for his parents to be happy for him too?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Lucky

**Author's Note:**

  * For [QuietLittleVoices](https://archiveofourown.org/users/QuietLittleVoices/gifts).



Eric drew a shuddering breath as he stared sightlessly out the car window, not really seeing the blur of dark houses passing by, too lost in his own thoughts. This trip certainly wasn’t going to be the first time he’d met Jack’s parents (the first time he’d met Bad Bob was too embarrassing to even think about), but it was the first time he was meeting them as something other than just Jack’s teammate and friend. 

The Zimmermanns had seemed to take the news of their relationship well; certainly far better than Eric’s own parent’s had—Coach still wasn’t talking to Eric, hadn’t since he broke the news to his parents over Thanksgiving break that him and Jack and were dating, had been dating for some time. His mother’s reaction had been the worst though. She’d cried, and Eric had cried because nothing was worse than his mother’s tears. Then Coach had yelled at him for making her cry, and well, the rest was history. Swallowing his pride, Eric had called Shitty to help him get a flight out that night instead of staying in a house where his parents’ disapproval hung so heavy.

After talking to his mother nearly every day since forever, the two weeks of silence had weighed heavily on Eric, his stress baking hitting a point where the team had started to quietly sell off his pies because even they couldn’t keep up with the quantity that he was producing. Eric had gotten so used to Samwell, so used to the acceptance, to not having to hide, that he’d let himself hope and forget about the worst of the prejudice that he’d grown up with. 

A part of Eric hadn’t been surprised by his parent’s reaction, but the other part of him had been devastated. It wasn’t like Eric had made the choice to like men. It was just the way he was wired. Life would have certainly been simpler for him, if it just wasn’t one of the many things that made him different. But Jack made Eric happy, happier than he’d ever dreamt he could be, having what he’d once thought would never be possible. Was it too much to hope for his parents to be happy for him too? 

When Eric’s mother had finally called, the conversation had been stilted, awkward, the pauses long and filled with a tension that had never been there before. For the first time, she hadn’t asked about Jack. Eric should have been happy that she was at least trying, right? But every phone call that followed left his chest tight, and a lump in his throat as the elephant in the room was again avoided. 

The worst of it though was Jack’s quiet guilt, the look that Eric saw on Jack’s face through Skype far too often after that day that Eric had broken down in response to his parent’s reaction to learning the news about them. After everything that Jack had been through, was still going through (the added responsibility of Jack being named Captain to the Falconers his second year with the team, the pressure to do better this year, despite having helped the team to the playoffs for the first time in the franchise’s history, having to hide their relationship from most people), the last thing he needed to do was carry Eric’s problems too. 

When Jack had invited Eric to stay with him over the winter break and visit Jack’s parents over the short Christmas break the NHL got, Eric had readily accepted, not realizing quite how homesick he’d be, even with Jack. Maybe Eric’s parents didn’t accept him, but they were still his parents, his family, and he loved them, but he hated how they made him feel like he wasn’t good enough. He was tired of it.

Eric didn’t think about the fact that it was nearly 2am when he pulled up his mother in his contacts and dialed her number. 

It took a full three rings for her to pick up her voice rough with sleep but high with panic. “Eric?! Did something happen?” 

“Is Coach there with you?” Eric asked, knowing that he could only do this once. 

“Yes, the phone woke him too. What’s wrong?” 

“Put it on speaker please.” 

There was a slight fumbling sound before her voice came through the speaker, slightly tinny. “Eric, baby. You’re worrying me. Are you okay?” 

“I’m sorry for calling so late, but I have to say this now, or I’ll never get up the nerve to do this again.” Eric drew a shuddering breath, and glanced over a Jack when his fingers curled around Eric’s.

“Need me to pull over?” Jack asked, voice low.

Eric shook his head in a negative. “Mama. Coach.” Eric paused and swallowed thickly, and Jack’s fingers tightened around his own, a show of solidarity that helped calm Eric’s nerves. “I know you don’t like it, but I love Jack. I’m going to keep loving Jack without your blessing. Jack is the best person I’ve ever met, and he means everything to me. But you’re my parents, and I love you both too. Please don’t make me choose.” Eric’s voice broke at the end, and he couldn’t force the rest of the words out past the lump in his throat. 

The silence stretched so long that Eric feared that they’d hung up on him, and Eric barely noticed that they’d pulled stopped in front of a large house.

Coach cleared his throat. “Jack makes you happy?” 

“More than I ever imagined possible,” Eric replied.

“He there with you now?” Coach asked.

“Yes.”

“Put him on speaker.” 

Heart racing, Eric did as he was told.

“Jack Zimmerman.”

“Sir,” Jack replied.

“I knew Eric was different at a young age, and I tried to protect him, tried to make him something he wasn’t, and I know I’ve made a lot of mistakes, but I’ve always been proud of my son.”

Eric squeezed his eyes shut and sniffed because those were words he never thought he’d hear, hadn’t known he’d needed to hear. 

“Maybe I’m just an old man set in his ways, and maybe I don’t understand it, but sports aren’t the most accepting communities. You’ll stand by Eric when the shit hits the fan?” 

“Georgia and the PR staff already have a contingency plan in place in the event that photos or videos are leaked. I’ve thought about coming out after the playoffs this year.”

“You think the world is ready for a gay hockey player?”

Jack scoffed at that. “I don’t think it much matters what the world thinks. I’ve had my named dragged through the mud since I was eighteen. They can’t say much worse about me than they already have.”

Eric’s mom cut in for the first time since Coach started talking. “And what about Eric’s good name?”

“Ma’am, this shouldn’t be a surprise to you, but you’ve raised an amazing young man. He’s stronger than you give him credit for.” 

Eric heard her sniff and squeezed his eyes shut tighter. 

“You take care of my boy, Jack.”

“Yes, ma’am. I try every day.”

“Eric, baby, we’re trying real hard, and we’re probably going to mess up again, but know that we will love you. Now I’m hanging up, and you give as a call back at a more respectable hour.

“Goodnight, Mama, Coach.” 

The call ended, and it finally hit Eric that they’d been sitting in front of the Zimmermann house for a number of minutes. “Your parents must be wondering what’s taking us so long. Heavens, I must look a mess,” Eric said, rubbing at his wet face. 

Jack unbuckled and twisted, uncaring of the console between them, and raised his hand to cup Eric’s cheek. “You’re beautiful.”

The unexpected compliment pulled a startled laugh from Eric, and he could make out Jack’s answering smile in the dark. “You’re a sap.”

“Only for you.” 

Eric laughed again, and they finally exited the car and grabbed their bags. 

Key in the door lock, Jack paused, looking up. 

Following Jack’s gaze, Eric barely had time to process the green sprig hung above them before Jack dropped his head and captured his mouth in a kiss. When Jack pulled away, smiling in happiness, Eric wondered how he’d gotten so lucky.

“I’m the lucky one,” Jack replied. 

“We’re both lucky.”

“Yes,” Jack agreed, leaning down for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Established relationship, spending Christmas together with one of their families. Mistletoe shenanigans. 
> 
> Happy holidays!


End file.
